1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic device, and more particularly, a device having an apparatus and method for setting a power management mode
2. Background of the Related Art
In an electronic device using a battery, such as a notebook computer, power management is important. For notebook computers using a Pentium CPU manufactured by the Intel Corporation, the CPU uses a Geyserville technology, which supports two power management modes, i.e., a high performance mode and a battery-optimized mode.
The notebook computer uses the high performance mode under the environment of AC power source, and uses the battery-optimized mode under the environment of a battery-only power source. In addition, the menu wherein an user can set the default mode in each environment is realized through Power Management applet (WordPad, Graphic Panel, or the like) in control panel programs of Microsoft Windows.
FIG. 1A illustrates a notebook computer 1 having a recess for receiving a smart battery 50 and input 2 for receiving the voltage from an AC/DC adapter 3, and FIG. 1B illustrates a schematic block diagram of a general notebook. In FIG. 1B, a central processing unit (CPU) 10 controls the overall operation, and a Geyserville ASIC 20 controls the mode-switching of a power mode driven in the system. A core chipset 30 manages the I/O interface between the system and a peripheral device upon receipt of a command from the CPU. A micro controller 40 handles the interaction of a keyboard, mouse interface, power management, and battery interface. A smart battery 50 is used as a power source when an external power source is not available or not used, and a power detector 60 detects the application of the external power source.
The conventional notebook computer system implements the power management mode of the CPU according to which power source is provided. Since power management is implemented by only two modes, i.e., the maximum performance mode and battery-optimized mode, according to whether or not AC power detected from the power detector 60 is applied, the power management is not efficiently achieved from an optimized power use point of view. Here, the maximum performance mode means a state where the load of the system is maximum and other devices are operated according to this. The battery-optimized mode means idle state of parts of a device, that is, power save state. In addition, in the case where the battery residual amount of the notebook computer is less than 50%, if a AC power source is plugged into the computer while using a battery only as a power source during a work on computer, most of the power is supplied to the system and only a part thereof is supplied to the battery, for thereby making the charging speed slower.
The above references are incorporated by reference herein where appropriate for appropriate teachings of additional or alternative details, features and/or technical background.
An object of the invention is to solve at least the above problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described hereinafter.
An object of the present invention is to improve power management. Another object of the present invention is to allow flexibility in power management.
A further object of the present invention is to allow user to set the power management.
Still another object of the present invention is to quickly charge the battery.
A further object of the present invention is to increase the number of power management modes.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for setting a power management mode capable of easily and simply setting the power management mode for a notebook computer system, and automatically setting the power management mode for the notebook computer system as an optimized mode according to the current operating state.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a charging method for reducing the charge time of a battery by appropriately converting the operating mode of a central processing unit of a Geyserville within the range of less effecting the performance of a computer, if the charging residual amount of a charging battery is judged to be less than a predetermined value when a power mode is converted to an adapter mode from a battery mode.
To achieve the above objects, there is provided an apparatus for setting a power management mode according to the present invention which includes: at least one detecting unit for monitoring the temperature state of a notebook computer, the charging state of a battery, and the power applying state from external source; a storing unit for storing the state of the individual condition and an appropriate power management mode in connection with each other; and a control unit for reading the power management mode corresponding to the current state of the individual monitored condition from the storing unit and for setting the same as a power management mode for the notebook computer.
In addition, there is provided a method for setting a power management mode according to the present invention which includes the steps of: continuously monitoring the temperature state of a notebook computer, charging state of a battery, and whether an external power is applied or not for setting a power management mode; reporting the result of the monitoring to a control unit and setting the power management mode as manual or automatic by an user; and checking the power management mode according to the current monitoring state from a memory to set the same as the power management mode for the apparatus, if the power management mode is set manual, or selecting and setting the power management mode by key input by the user, if the power management mode is set automatic.
Furthermore, while the notebook computer is operated only by the battery, it is operated in a maximum performance mode if the battery residual amount is more than 50% when an AC power source is inputted. On the other hand, if the battery residual amount is less than 50%, the maximum performance mode is switched to a Geyserville cycling mode so as to make the charging speed higher.
The present invention can be achieved in a whole or in parts by a method of selecting one of a plurality of modes for power management, the method comprising: selecting a maximum performance mode based on a first condition; selecting a battery-optimized mode based on a second condition; and selecting a third mode different from maximum performance mode and the battery-optimized mode based on a third condition.
The present invention can be achieved in a whole or in parts by a apparatus for allowing a system to have a plurality of modes for power management comprising: a controller which supports the plurality of modes, wherein the plurality of modes includes a maximum performance mode, a battery optimized mode and a performance/optimization cycling mode, wherein during the performance/optimization cycling mode, the maximum performance mode is performed for a first prescribed period of time and the battery optimized mode is performed for a second prescribed period of time.
The present invention can be achieved in a whole or in parts by a method for setting a power management mode for a system, comprising: continuously monitoring the temperature state of the system, the charging state of a battery, and the application of power from an external source for setting a power management mode; and checking the power management mode according to the result of the monitoring from a memory for setting the same as the power management mode for the apparatus.
The present invention can be achieved in a whole or in parts by a system having prescribed function and operation to achieve a prescribed result, the system having an apparatus for setting a power management mode, wherein the apparatus includes: at least one detector to monitor a condition of the system based on the temperature, remaining charge of a battery, and whether an external power is applied or not; and a controller for determining the power management mode corresponding to monitored condition from the storing unit.
Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained as particularly pointed out in the appended claims.